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Wendy Withers lives in Florida with her two cats. Her passions lie in writing about art and social equality and playing games of all kinds. She recently graduated with a BA in journalism and is currently working on building her freelancing career.

Monday, July 21, 2008

RPG sickness

At some point, I think my gift for writing has almost become like a sickness when it comes to creating and fleshing out LARP characters. Most of you who read this blog know I role play; I've written about it.

The thing is, after I've played a character for a while, I end up writing elaborate backstories and histories for them.

It's even worse then when I'm creating characters for novels and short stories. I should probably go to this much trouble for my literary works.

Here is the current history for my Sabbat Character for OWbN LARP in the St. Pete chronicle. Now you can see my diseased brain at work.

Just as a caution, this baby's 16 pages long in word, and a part of it is pretty graphic. And, this is probably going to be kind of hard to read, because if I formatted it, I would be up all night. This is just more evidence of my general nerdiness.

Describe What Your Character Looked Like (including sex, height, weight, eye color, style of clothes he/she wears...etc.):My character was a small time model in Tampa, working mostly trade shows and photo shoots for local businesses and magazines. She was an exotic beauty. She has glossy black hair, brown eyes, and brown skin. She looks like she could have some family from the Middle East or possibly some gypsy blood. She wears the clothes a young feminist women studies major would wear; i.e. tees with feminist slogans on them, long skirts, sometimes scarves in her hair, and other comfortable, casual clothes. She wears a lot of black and blue and either little makeup or dark grungy makeup.

Date Of Birth: 07/24/1984City and State: Army Base in GermanyEthnic Background: mutt backgroundCharacter’s Religion: SpiritualistExplain Why Your Character Was Or Wasn’t Religious:Babylon used to attend one of the spiritualist camps in Florida, where people try to contact spirits. It’s not really religious, but it has some religious aspects. It’s more of a philosophy that has to do with contacting the dead through different divining means. That’s where she learned to be a medium and fortune telling; her parents were spiritualists, which is why she got into it. Since she has amnesia, she doesn’t remember going, but she still retains her skills. At the moment, she is more of an Agnostic and is beginning to believe that power lies within her instead of from an outside source.

Character’s Intelligence:Average

Was Your Character Educated (circle one): Yes

My character received a standard, high school education. She got okay grades when she applied herself. She became a model before she graduated, so she decided to forego a college education

List Your Character’s Hobbies as a Mortal (examples: reading, writing, painting...etc.):My character watched a lot of TV and modeled. She started dating in high school but was labeled a tease and decided dating wasn’t worth it. She also dabbled in witchcraft and fortune telling. She met some mages but didn’t really get into it, so she learned a lot about the Tampa mage world but wasn’t a mage herself.

Describe Your Character’s Favorite Place to Hang Out as a Mortal and Why:She hit the clubs a lot, because she liked to feel others’ eyes on her.

List and Describe One OR Two Relationships That Had an Important Impact on Your Character as a Mortal:Her best friend was a dumpy girl who lived a few blocks away from her as a child. She liked her, because she felt she could confide in her, but at the same time she knew people’s eyes were drawn to her because her friend wasn’t that attractive. She also had an important relationship with her mother, who was overbearing and controlled much of her life in a stage mother type capacity.

How Sexually Active Was Your Character (circle one): Not Very

Describe What Your Character’s Opinion of the Opposite Sex Was:Men were there to take care of her and buy things for her, but not much more than that.

List And Describe Two People Your Character Most Admired as a Mortal and Why:Oprah: Oprah is self assured, a strong woman, and is always together. She’s also really rich and knows how to get what she wants out of life and from other people.Dr. Phil: Dr. Phil is a life leader and a top-notch psychologist in Babylon’s view. He’s also really rich and knows how to get what he wants out of life and from other people.

List And Describe Two People Your Character Hated as a Mortal and Why:She hated bitches who thought they were better than her and people who thought they had all the answers.

List What Your Character’s Two Favorite Books Were and Explain Why They Were His/Her Favorite:Babylon liked The Vampire Chronicles because they were easy to read and were about sexy characters. She also liked Dr. Phil’s book about the seven life laws; even though she didn’t read it all the way through or go through all of the steps, she got a lot out of it.

List What Your Character’s Two Favorite Movies or Plays Were and Explain Why They Were His/Her Favorite:Babylon liked Breakfast at Tiffany’s and Gone with the Wind, because they centered around female role models for her.

List What Your Character’s Two Favorite Musicians/Bands Were and Explain Why They Were His/Her Favorite:Babylon liked The Backstreet Boys and Nirvanna, because she liked the stories the songs told.

If You Could Choose One Song To Represent Your Character As A Mortal Which Song Would it Be and Why that song? Beauty Contest by No Doubt

When Your Character Was Young What Did He/She Want to Be When They Became an Adult?talk show host

Character’s Mortal Life – Family Information

Make A Selection That Best Describes Your Character and His/Her Family’s Social Class (circle one): Upper Class

Describe the Neighborhood(s) Your Character Grew Up In:She grew up on Davis Island, in an upscale condo. No diversity, no real crime. Just a lot of rich white people.

Describe the Appearance of Your Character’s Mother:Blond, frosted hair in a rich woman’s helmet hair cut, wore the best in rich casual clothing, i.e. well cut suits and tshirts and khaki pants that cost hundreds of dollars each.

Describe the Personality of Your Character’s Mother:Overbearing and controlling. She needed to have constant updates of Monica’s (Babylon’s) activities and whereabouts.

List A Couple of Hobbies/Favorite Past-Times of Your Character’s Mother:Charities and social organizations.

Did Your Character’s Mother Have A Profession (circle one)? Yes What Was Her Profession? stage mother/ PTA momIf Your Character’s Mother Did Not Work, Explain Why She Did Not:Describe Any Psychological Disorders “Your” Mother Suffered And How The Disorder(s) Effected “Your” Mother’s Life (at home, with friends, at work):OCD, perfectionism, made her very difficult to be around her, even though she was very popular.

List Any Addictions “Your” Mother Had, State The Year And “Your” Mother’s Age When She Started Using The Addictive Substance And Describe How The Addiction Started (examples of substances: nicotine, alcohol, marijuana, heroine, LSD...etc.):Valium, prescribed

Make A Selection That Best Describes the Relationship Your Character had with His/Her Mother (circle one): Bad

Describe In More Detail their Relationship:Lesley is overbearing, and Monica (Babylon) has been trying to break away for years but hasn’t had the guts. She’s survived years of her mother picking her friends, picking her hobbies and classes, and picking her modeling jobs.

Father’s Name: Major Larry StewartPlace of Birth: St. Peter MinnesotaEthnic Background: SwedishFather’s Age at Your Character’s Birth: 33Father’s Religion: LutheranExplain Why Your Character’s Father Was Or Wasn’t Religious:He attended Lutheran church and a Lutheran college until he got married, then he stopped going.

Describe the Appearance of your Character’s Father:He looks very Midwestern and very Scandinavian. He has close cropped hair and is always meticulously groomed.

Describe the Sort of Personality Your Character’s Father Had:He is kind of boring and tended to do whatever his wife and daughter wanted.

List A Couple of Hobbies/Past-Times of Your Character’s Father:target practice, hunting, football

Did Your Character’s Father Have A Profession (circle one)? Yes What Was His Profession? Major in the Army

Make A Selection That Best Describes the Relationship Your Character had with His/Her Father (circle one): Okay

Describe In More Detail their Relationship:Babyon likes being able to control others, and her father was pretty easygoing. Make A Selection That Best Describes the Relationship Your Character’s Mother and Father had with Each Other (circle one): Okay Explain Your Answer:Larry did everything Lesley wanted, and she let him.

Describe How Your Character Felt About How His/Her Mother Was Treated By His/Her Father And Vice Versa:Monica thought her father let her mother walk all over him, and she thought her mother was a bitch to her father.

Did Your Character Have Any Siblings? (circle one) No

Did Any Significant Family Member or Close Friend Die During Your Character’s Mortal Lifetime? No

Character’s Mortal Life – Profession and Skills

Did Your Character Have a Specific Profession? Yes If Yes, What was His/Her Profession?model

What Were Your Character’s Favorite Job(s) and Why?She liked magazine shoots the best, especially when they were in whimsical locations, like on garden swings, because they made her feel magical and like a princess.

What Were Your Character’s Least Favorite Job(s) and Why?Photo shoots on the beach. Because of the sand.

List Any Special Skills/Abilities Your Character Had To Help Him/Her In A Professional Career:She is purty.

Describe the Appearance of Your Character’s Sire:He has long, black curly hair, a goatee, and is overweight. He has dark brown eyes and wears jeans and button down white tshirts.

Describe the Personality of Your Character’s Sire:He likes to annoy people, but he also likes to teach. He can be eager to please but is also lazy and likes to get away with doing as little as possible, especially if it involves work.

Give a Summary on the Life of Your Character’s Sire:unknown

Describe When, Where and How Your Character First Met His/Her Sire:

He started stalking her after seeing her in a club. She literally met him after she was embraced. She met him at her apartment after he tricked her.

Describe Your Character’s First Impression of His/Her Sire:Her first impression was that he was black smoke. Her second impression was that he was a tubby slob loser, which was more correct.

Describe “Your” Sire’s First Impression of Your Character:From afar he was fascinated with her grace, poise, beauty, and power.

Describe What the Relationship Was Like Between Your Character and His/Her Sire Before the Embrace:n/a

Character’s Vampiric Existance – The Embrace

The Date of Your Character’s Embrace: 01/01/07Your Character’s Age When Embraced: 22Describe the Place Where Your Character was Embraced:She was embraced in her apartment, a sterile environment kept immaculately clean, with leather furniture and chrome accents. Her walls were white and she barely had any art gracing the walls. The color scheme was mostly browns, and she had a giant 50” screen TV.

Describe How Your Character’s Sire Embraced Your Character:He knocked on her door, said he was the pizza guy, dropped shroud on her when she opened the door, and embraced her after she passed out.

Character’s Vampiric Existance – After The Embrace

Describe How Your Character Reacted to the Embrace:She was traumatized and fought against him until the feelings of his blood bond began to kick in. Then, she began to dote on him and depended on him for everything. She wouldn’t feed for a long time until she’d fed on his blood first.

Describe Your Character’s First Kill (include a description of where your character first hunted and his/her first victim, how did your character go about doing it and finally was your character successful? How did your character feel afterward?): They step into the night together, his arm draped across her shoulders. He walks to her right, looking for her perfect target. He needs someone small and weak. They can’t put up much of a fight or a fuss. He wants it to go down outside, with him whispering instructions in her ear. It will be real training. Her future is set; she will be strong. She will be self-sufficient. They will find her limitations, so she will always have the safety of knowing what she can and can’t do. In the cool night air, he knows they’ll live forever. He’ll continue to fall asleep with her slight form in his arms, her hips pressing against him, his arms wrapped around her, just under her breasts. If she dies, he’ll kill her himself, but he can’t see that in the stars above them. They just twinkle merrily, showing off. Vinn weighs every woman who walks by against his list of what’s needed. Too muscular, too old, too young, too fat, too thin, too thick- they all get passed by. He does notice Monica seems unaware of the women drifting by. This worries him. While she seemed interested in leaving the apartment, she seems not to care about who’s chosen for her first. He begins to lecture her about the importance of this night as they flow through the stream of night revelers. “You know, this is the first night we’ve been hunting together. You’re going to have to learn your prey. You’ll have to learn who you can take down and who you should leave for someone stronger. It also isn’t that great to pick someone on drugs or who’s been drinking. That shit can effect you, too. You need to pay attention.” Vinn gazed at Monica, who was nodding her head as she jumped from one sight to another. She seemed more intent on pulling Vinn close to her and staring down the people walking by than actually listening to what he had to say. Vinn sighed. “You know, this is important. But, as long as you’re with me, you’ll be fine. Just don’t come out here alone because you think you can handle it. Wait until I think you’re ready.” Vinn places a soft kiss behind Monica’s ear, pushing her hair out of the way with a finger. Monica nods as she turns to stare at a tall, dark man who is walking with his own girlfriend. She snuggles a bit closer to Vinn and squeezes. Vinn shakes his head, catching movement out of the corner of his eye. He firmly halts Monica and turns her around to watch the woman shuffling away. He’s found her. The woman is the perfect prey for a beginner. She’s a chubby woman with flab swinging from her weak arms. She’s also simultaneously talking on her cell phone and looking through her purse for something. She has no idea what’s going on around her. Vinn gives Monica a gentle push towards her. Monica looks back at Vinn once, grinning, then glides after the woman. He watches Monica tap the woman on the shoulder; it appears she’s explaining some kind of inconvenience by the way she’s flailing her arms. The woman barks something into her phone, then takes Monica’s arm as she leads her into a back alley. Vinn is close behind as he follows them. He watches the woman struggle against Monica as she’s pulled close, but Monica’s stronger even though she’s smaller. Monica feels into the woman’s mind. The lady grows limp in her arms- Monica can feel her life draining away. She chews at the woman’s neck while reaching out to her. The weight of Vinn’s eyes on her almost makes her miss the small spark she can feel under the mother’s. Monica stops; she can feel the woman’s breath weak against her chest. Part of her is repulsed, but the repulsion is soon dwarfed by the curiosity she feels. It’s not as if it makes a difference. Monica curves her hand into a clawed paw and scoops into the woman’s stomach. The woman’s breathing ceases as Monica explores the warm, gory contents of her body. Finally, she pulls out a small lump in a sack. It didn’t survive past it’s mother’s death, and is uninteresting to Monica. She shrugs as she tosses it back towards the body. She turns around to the sight of Vinn backing away. They walk back in silence. Monica is jittery; she thinks Vinn is disappointed in her for something. Maybe she should have let the woman live longer. Maybe she took too long. She goes over what she did over and over, trying to find a better strategy. Vinn is more horrified than disappointed. He thinks of what he should say to make Monica understand the importance of life, even though they are bringers of death. He’s never brought a woman over- perhaps she’s taking to the life better than he realized. It’s impossible for him to erase the picture of Monica standing over the pregnant woman, her eyes wide, arms covered in gore, staring at the baby that only took up part of her palm out his mind.(From the first draft of the short story “Monica,” published in Arrhythmic Souls Magazine.

Describe Any Changes in Your Character’s Appearance After the Embrace:She has fine, dark features. She is paler and leaner, which makes her dark eyes and hair stand out more. She wears street clothes more and carries herself differently, so she isn’t noticed as much as she was before, and when she is it’s usually by an entirely different set of people. She often looks like she’s looking for a fight.

Describe Any Changes in Your Character’s Personality After the Embrace:She still tries to control people, although now it’s more through pop psychology. After her bout with amnesia, she is jittery and wants to get in the middle of action more often. She is also searching for herself, so her current philosophy is that she should try everything once to find out what she likes as well as try to find out who she used to be. Explain Any Changes in Your Character’s Religious Beliefs After the Embrace:She sees herself more as the center of the universe than ever before. She also depends on her fortune telling more than before and the snatches of memory she has of the occult. She is drawn back to that world because it is something of an anchor in a storm; she is searching out other supernatural creatures and trying to find ways to give her life meaning.

Did Your Character’s Sire Abandon Your Character After the Embrace? Yes If the Answer is Yes, Explain What Your Character Did After He/She Was Abandoned:She searched for him to bring him back, and she came back with amnesia, her sire’s resentment, and an enemy.

Did Being Abandoned Strengthen Or Weaken Your Character? Strengthened

Explain Your Answer:She had to depend on her own resources and break away from her codependency. She also doesn’t remember her mortal life, so she doesn’t have to deal with horrors like her mother dying at her Sire’s hand or know that she was ever dominated by another soul.

How Long Did Your Character Stay with His/Her Sire? 8 monthsWhich Best Describes the Relationship Between Your Character and His/Her Sire After The Embrace: Okay

Describe How Your Character was Treated by His/Her Sire After The Embrace:She was treated as a servant; he gave her the name Bitch; his words were “Bitch, get me a beer.” When she started to complain about disrespect, he told her that was her new name. Even though she was blood bonded to him before they rejoined the Sabbat in St. Pete, there was a constant war of wills.

Describe Where Your Character And His/Her Sire Stayed/Lived:They lived in her apartment until they moved into the Apathy pack house. The apartment started to decline as Vinn made more and more messes and Bitch decided to stop cleaning up after them, and even worse still after he got her puppy that added to the mess.

Describe How Your Character was Educated on Kindred/Cainite Affairs:Vinn told her very little, then took her to St. Pete so she could learn by doing. She knows even less now that she has amnesia, but she tries to hide it.

If Your Character Did Not Receive Kindred/Cainite Education or was Purposely Misinformed Explain Why:Her Sire was lazy and didn’t care. He was also probably more than a little spiteful.

Did Your Character Part Ways With His/Her Sire On Good Terms? No

Describe the Scene of Your Character’s Departure:She doesn’t know what happened and possibly would not recognize her Sire if she met him on the street.

Describe How Your Character Felt Being On His/Her Own:At first she panicked, then she set out with a purpose. She was going to find her Sire and fix him.

Did Your Character Travel? Yes List the Places Your Character Went, When and How Long He/She Stayed:She traveled in teh SouthEast and then headed for Mexico to find her Sire, where she traveled from Sabbat stronghold to Sabbat stronghold. She woke up on a cruise ship coming back from Mexico with amnesia; she only knows about her past from her diary.

What Was Your Character’s Favorite Place and Why?Her favorite place is the fairy bar, because she can get high. She also liked being on the cruise ship, because of the nightlife and the feeling of the waves.

What Was the Worst Place Your Character Traveled To and Why?She had to go find some sort of relic with Jack Castor in the sewers, but she doesn’t remember that now. Now, the worst place she’s been was a ghetto house.

How Did Your Character Pass the Night Hours Away?She watches a lot of TV when she isn’t looking for a fight or new experiences.

If Your Character Has Made Any Friends/Allies Explain Who They Are, How Your Character Met Them and Why They Are a Friend/Ally to Your Character:She spends a lot of time with Dante because he is a link to her past. The only person she actually thinks of as a friend is Craig the BSD; she is fascinated by his werewolfness and wants to ghoul him as an elaborate experiment. She is also drawn to his darkness and what she sees as his deep philosophy regarding life. She met him at the mage bar.

If Your Character Has Made Any Enemies Explain Who They Are, How Your Character Met Them and Why They Are an Enemy to Your Character:Her sire is an enemy, and it has to do with her trip to Mexico, when she followed him.

Describe One Positive Experience Your Character Had During His/Her First Year or So On His/Her Own:She stole a giant screened TV from the Snack Pack. Now she throws away their invoices when they send them.

How Did Your Character Benefit From This Experience?She thought it was fun and that she was pulling something over on the Snack Pack, plus it made Dante happy.

Describe One Negative Experience Your Character Had During His/Her First Few Years on His/Her Own:She was attacked by another Sabbat member during a large battle with an important Camarilla figure. He put her in torpor.

How Was Your Character Affected By This Experience?She distrusts other Sabbat members.***Choose 2-4 key moments in your character’s Kindred life. Include the date and a detailed description of the event that occurred***

1. Joining her Sire’s pack and leaving his blood bond behind. It made her question her relationship with him and begin to pity him for his general unhappiness. It also led to her following him when he left, because she already felt superior and wanted to help him through his problems.

2. Receiving her first bow, which symbolized her ability to defend herself. It was made from the leg bone of a human (by one of Tony’s old characters); she felt as if she was a deadly weapon with it. 3. Rejoining Apathy and listening to Dante’s stories about her past, like when she killed a Methusula. It made her feel like she could find a home for herself even if she couldn’t remember her past.

4. Any of the times she spoken with Craig. She believes he offers a unique world view and is fascinated by him as a person as well as him as a werewolf. She is sure she can transform him into some sort of super werewolf vampire hybrid if she ghouls him.

Character’s Vampiric Existance – Your Character’s Sire Presently

If Your Character’s Sire is Still Alive Answer the Following---Presently, Where Does Your Character’s Sire Live? she doesn’t knowDoes Your Character Still Stay In Touch With His/Her Sire? NoIf Your Character No Longer Speaks to His/Her Sire Explain Why:She has amnesia, so she doesn’t know where he is or much about him.

Character’s Vampiric Existance – Your Character Presently

Describe the Current Appearance of Your Character:She’s kind of edgy, but not edgy enough to be taken seriously. In fact, no one could mistake her for someone to take seriously by looking at her or speaking with her. She wears a lot of band and feminist shirts and long skirts as well as long stockings and canvas sneakers or boots.

Describe Your Character’s Personality Presently:She talks to much about everyone’s feelings and their problems. She likes hearing the sound of her own voice and thinking she’s helping people. She currently struggling against her own humanity. She follows the beat of her own drummer and doesn’t really take into account what others want or feel when it goes against her own needs. However, she is very soft hearted when it suits her and has a bleeding heart, especially for children or people who might be useful to her in some way. It’s more of a sickly sweet fake softheartedness.

List A Couple of Hobbies/Favorite Past-Times of Your Character and Explain Why He/She Has These Hobbies/Past-Times:She spends a lot of time at the Mage bar drinking fairy blood and getting high, when she’s not watching TV. She would probably be surprised to find out she was a conservative prude as a mortal. She feels more from controlled vampire blood substances than she did with anything when she was alive. She is also still interested in fortune telling and the occult.

List Your Character’s Two Favorite Books and Explain Why They Were His/Her Favorite:She’s still into Dr. Phil’s Life Lessons, and she reads a lot of feminist magazines. The Bitch feminist reader is a favorite.

List Your Character’s Two Favorite Movies or Plays and Explain Why They Were His/Her Favorite:Now she likes The Matrix, because she feels it explains her existence in some ways. She also likes Queen of the Damned, because she can relate.

List Your Character’s Two Favorite Musicians/Bands and Explain Why They Were His/Her Favorite:She thinks No Doubt adequately explains her worldview. She also says she loves Ani DiFranco, even though she doesn’t think she’s heard their music.

If You Could Choose One Song To Represent Your Character As He/She is Today Which Song Would it Be and Why that song? “Too Late” by No Doubt.

She thinks her feelings for the BSD are on par with Romeo and Juliet.

Name of the City Your Character Currently Resides In: (This is your Home Chronicle) St. Pete

Date of Your Character’s Arrival to the City: reentered in MayWhat was the Last City/Town Your Character Reside In? Tampa

What Made Your Character Decide to Travel to This City?finding her past

Does Your Character Know Any Kindred or Kine Already Living in the City? YesIf So, Who Are They And How Does Your Character Know Them?Dante, in her packList and Describe At Least Three Goals Your Character Wishes To Accomplish While In the City:Find her past and therefore herself, ghoul the BSD, help people with her own brand of pop psychology

Out Of the Goals Previously Listed, Which Is Currently The Most Important for Your Character and Why? Right now, the BSD, because she is creepy and obsessed.

Character’s Vampiric Existance – Character Opinions

What Does Your Character Have To Say About the Camarilla?Those poor people are misguided and uninformed.

What Does Your Character Have To Say About the Sabbat?Lofty goals, but at what cost, if they’re willing to attack their own for no reason?

Lasombra: At least someone can add some class and substance to existence. Tzimisce: Kind of creepy, but they come in handy in a pinch.

What Does Your Character Have To Say About the Independents?Maybe they have the most freedom, but where’s the safety in numbers?

What Does Your Character Have To Say About Mortals?They have their purposes.

List Any Addictions Your Character Still Has and Describe How They Affect Your Character:She is becoming addicted to different magical bloods.

List Any Other Of Your Character’s Flaws and Explain How and Why Your Character Has Them:She is soft hearted towards useful people and children, she has amnesia from when she went to find her sire, she has an enemy from when she went to find her sire, she is vengeful when crossed, and she has sire’s resentment from when she went to find her sire.

List Your Character’s Merits and Explain How and Why Your Character Has Them:She has medium from when she was a spiritualist, she has daredevil because it’s a part of her personality and possibly from her amnesia, and she has catlike balance which added to her grace when modeling.

List Your Character’s Negative Traits and Explain Why You Chose Them For Your Character:She is condescending because she believes she is the center of the universe, she is impatient, and she is oblivious, because she is really, really naive and stupid.

Character Sheet Information – Backgrounds and Influence

**Fill in the dots for the backgrounds your character has and then explain when, how and where you got them and also who they are.**

Street 3She keeps her ear to the streets more than anything; since she left for so long she lost her occult and other contacts.

Haven 3She is working on decorating and fortifying the Apathy pack house.